Down payment assistance in your county
Pick your county, income and price: the state programs you may fit, how much they give or lend, and your monthly payment with and without the help.
Method and sources · Who publishes this site · Updated October 21, 2026, Freddie Mac rate of October 15, 2026
Help you may get in Harris County
$14,475
My First Texas Home: deferred loan, repaid when you sell or refinance. 2 programs likely fit, 1 to check.
| Your income vs. area median for 3 people | 91% |
| HUD 80% income limit, 3 people | $74,900 |
| Down payment at 3.5% | $10,500 |
| Cash still needed with the help | $0 |
| Monthly payment, no help | $2,004 |
| Monthly payment, with the help | $2,004 |
| FHA limit · conforming limit | $541,287 · $832,750 |
Programs read on the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) pages; HUD FY 2026 limits; payment = principal and interest over 30 years at 7.4% (Freddie Mac, October 15, 2026). The approved lender confirms eligibility.
| Program | Fit | Amount | Form | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My First Texas Home | Likely fits | $14,475 | Deferred loan, repaid when you sell or refinance | income, price and buyer fit |
| Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate | Likely fits | tax credit | Federal tax credit | income, price and buyer fit |
| My Choice Texas Home | Check with the agency | $14,475 | Deferred loan, repaid when you sell or refinance | county income limit not transcribed: see the agency table |
- Counties and towns covered
- 4,680 (HUD, fiscal year 2026)
- State programs read
- 40 in 18 states
- 30-year rate, Freddie Mac
- 7.4% (October 15, 2026)
- FHA limit, one unit, 2026
- $541,287 to $1,249,125
Down payment assistance is money from a state housing finance agency, a county or a city that covers part of the down payment and closing costs, as a grant, a loan forgiven after a few years, a loan repaid only when you sell or refinance, or a small second loan with a monthly payment. Whether you qualify depends on your county: income limits are a share of the HUD area median income, which ranges from $35,700 to $205,500 for a family of four across the 4,680 areas HUD publishes for 2026. In Harris County, Texas, a household of three earning $85,000 is at 91% of the median for its size, and a $300,000 FHA purchase can draw $14,475 from My First Texas Home, which brings the cash needed for the down payment from $10,500 to $0 while the monthly payment stays at $2,004. The calculator above repeats that reading for any county and any household, with the reason each program fits or does not.
This site gives the answer to "do I qualify in my county and for how much" straight away: the HUD limit of the county, each state program's own terms read on the agency's pages, the amount in dollars and the monthly payment with and without the help, with no name or email asked.
All 50 states and Washington, D.C.
HUD's 2026 median family income for four people, lowest and highest county of each state, and the number of state agency programs whose terms we have read and put in the calculator. States marked "not read yet" still get their county limits: the calculator gives your share of area median income, the FHA and conforming limits and your payment.
| State | HUD median income across counties (4 people) | State programs read |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $41,500 to $115,100 | not read yet |
| Alaska | $55,800 to $146,200 | not read yet |
| Arizona | $54,600 to $112,400 | 1 |
| Arkansas | $46,900 to $106,900 | not read yet |
| California | $72,400 to $205,500 | 1 |
| Colorado | $52,800 to $150,000 | 2 |
| Connecticut | $111,900 to $156,800 | not read yet |
| Delaware | $103,200 to $122,700 | not read yet |
| District of Columbia | $166,100 to $166,100 | not read yet |
| Florida | $58,500 to $129,600 | 3 |
| Georgia | $43,600 to $117,800 | 1 |
| Hawaii | $98,300 to $133,400 | not read yet |
| Idaho | $68,400 to $130,300 | not read yet |
| Illinois | $65,900 to $135,800 | 4 |
| Indiana | $61,800 to $110,900 | not read yet |
| Iowa | $71,900 to $122,400 | not read yet |
| Kansas | $66,200 to $113,400 | not read yet |
| Kentucky | $39,000 to $109,900 | not read yet |
| Louisiana | $46,500 to $107,700 | not read yet |
| Maine | $72,100 to $139,100 | not read yet |
| Maryland | $72,700 to $166,100 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | $94,300 to $165,600 | 3 |
| Michigan | $62,600 to $142,300 | 1 |
| Minnesota | $76,300 to $135,800 | not read yet |
| Mississippi | $39,900 to $98,100 | not read yet |
| Missouri | $52,000 to $119,200 | not read yet |
| Montana | $61,700 to $130,200 | not read yet |
| Nebraska | $64,900 to $117,600 | not read yet |
| Nevada | $67,700 to $116,800 | not read yet |
| New Hampshire | $87,700 to $164,600 | not read yet |
| New Jersey | $89,100 to $154,800 | 2 |
| New Mexico | $48,300 to $182,500 | not read yet |
| New York | $78,100 to $164,300 | 1 |
| North Carolina | $59,300 to $132,300 | 2 |
| North Dakota | $48,100 to $130,800 | not read yet |
| Ohio | $63,000 to $146,700 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | $55,300 to $99,100 | not read yet |
| Oregon | $68,300 to $128,300 | not read yet |
| Pennsylvania | $68,000 to $122,700 | 2 |
| Rhode Island | $112,100 to $137,700 | not read yet |
| South Carolina | $51,500 to $117,500 | not read yet |
| South Dakota | $35,700 to $119,800 | not read yet |
| Tennessee | $44,300 to $116,100 | 2 |
| Texas | $38,700 to $144,200 | 3 |
| Utah | $60,800 to $167,700 | not read yet |
| Vermont | $74,100 to $123,400 | not read yet |
| Virginia | $54,400 to $166,100 | 2 |
| Washington | $77,300 to $164,400 | 5 |
| West Virginia | $42,100 to $128,400 | not read yet |
| Wisconsin | $74,100 to $135,300 | not read yet |
| Wyoming | $80,400 to $148,500 | not read yet |
Why the county decides almost everything
Every state agency sets its limits as a share of area median income, and HUD measures that median county by county, or by metropolitan area where counties share a housing market. The same family of three earning $85,000 sits at 91% of the median in Harris County, Texas, at 87% in Los Angeles County and at 57% in King County, Washington. A program capped at 80% of area median is open to that family in two of those places and closed in the third. That is why national lists of "grants for first-time buyers" leave readers where they started: the answer is local, and it is a number.
The calculator reads the 2026 HUD file for your county or New England town, adjusts the median to the size of your household with HUD's own factors, then checks each program of your state against your income, your price, your first-time status, your credit score and your type of first mortgage. When an agency publishes its own table by county, as Texas, Ohio and New Jersey do, the calculator uses that table instead of a share of HUD's median, because that is the figure the lender will apply.
Your share of area median income
Your income as a share of the Los Angeles County median
98%
| HUD median family income (4 people) | $108,100 |
| 100% of median, 3 people | $97,300 |
| HUD 80% low-income limit, 3 people | $119,950 |
| 120% of median (common program cap) | $116,760 |
Grant, forgivable, deferred or repayable: the form matters as much as the amount
Ten thousand dollars of assistance can be four very different deals. A grant is never repaid. A forgivable loan disappears if you keep the home long enough, all at once at the end of the term or a little every month. A deferred loan charges nothing while you live there but comes back in full when you sell or refinance, sometimes with interest. A repayable second loan adds a monthly payment from day one. MassHousing offers up to $30,000 deferred at 0%, or up to $25,000 repaid over 15 years at 2% or 3%: the first costs nothing each month, the second $161 a month for $25,000, the figure MassHousing prints itself.
What the help costs when you sell
Owed if you sell after 4 years
$10,000
| Assistance received | $10,000 |
| Repaid at the sale | $10,000 |
| Kept for good | $0 |
What the help changes, and what it does not
Assistance lowers the cash you bring to closing; with most programs it does not lower your loan, because the agency asks for the minimum down payment of the first mortgage and lets the help pay it. The payment on a deferred or forgivable loan is zero, so your monthly cost is the payment on the first mortgage, $2,004 for the Harris County example at 7.4%. Some agencies add a little to the first mortgage rate when you take their help: New York's SONYMA adds 0.40 point with its down payment loan. The calculator shows both payments side by side so the trade is visible.
Payment with and without the help
Monthly payment with the help
$2,004
| First mortgage | $289,500 |
| Monthly payment without help | $2,004 |
| Payment on the assistance loan | $0 |
| Cash for the down payment, without help | $10,500 |
Where each figure comes from
County medians and the 80% low-income limits come from HUD's fiscal year 2026 income limits, effective May 1, 2026. Loan limits come from FHFA's 2026 conforming limits and HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23 for FHA. The default rate is Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Program terms are read on each agency's own pages and guides, with the quote and the link kept in our data files; the method page lists them.
Programs, limits, payments
- Assistance programs by stateEvery state program we read, with amount, form and limits
- Down payment grantsWhich programs are true grants, which are forgiven loans
- First-time buyer programsThe three-year rule, exemptions, and programs open to repeat buyers
- Income limits by countyHUD area median income and the 80% limit for your household
- Requirements to qualifyIncome, price, credit score, education and the rest, program by program
- How much down paymentThe minimum by loan type, FHA, conventional, VA and USDA, in dollars
- Payment with assistanceMonthly payment and cash to close, with and without the help
- Forgivable loansWhat you repay if you sell or refinance early, year by year
- FHA loan limits by countyFHA and conforming limits of your county for 2026
- Mortgage credit certificateThe yearly federal tax credit on your mortgage interest
- Loans with bad creditWhat a 500 to 660 score opens: FHA down payment and state floors
By state
- TexasMy First Texas Home, My Choice Texas Home and the MCC, by county
- CaliforniaCalHFA MyHome and the Dream For All loan, county by county
- FloridaHometown Heroes, FL Assist and the HFA PLUS second, county by county
- New YorkSONYMA DPAL: 3% of the price, up to $15,000, forgiven over 10 years
- GeorgiaGeorgia Dream: up to $10,000 at 0%, deferred, with three area limits
- OhioOHFA 3% or 3.5% forgiven after 7 years, Grants for Grads and the tax credit
- North CarolinaNC Home Advantage 3%, or $15,000 for first-time buyers, forgiven over 15 years
- WashingtonHome Advantage, House Key, Covenant and the local loans, by county
- VirginiaA true grant of 2% or 2.5%, or the Plus second up to 5%, from Virginia Housing
- PennsylvaniaPHFA K-FIT 5% forgiven over ten years, or the Keystone Advantage loan at 0%
- IllinoisIHDA Access Home, Forgivable, Deferred and Repayable: four loans up to $15,000
- MichiganMSHDA MI 10K: up to $10,000 at 0%, due on sale, with the MI Home Loan
- ColoradoCHFA grant up to 3% never repaid, or a deferred second up to 4% of the loan
- ArizonaHome Plus, up to 4% forgiven after five years, one income cap statewide
- New JerseyNJHMFA DPA of $10,000 or $15,000 by county, plus $7,000 for first-generation buyers
- MarylandMMP 1st Time Advantage: 3% to 5% of the loan, or $6,000, deferred
- MassachusettsMassHousing: up to $30,000 deferred, or $25,000 repaid over 15 years at 2% or 3%
- TennesseeTHDA Great Choice Plus: up to $10,000 forgiven, or 5% repaid over 30 years
Understand down payment assistance before you apply
Who runs these programs
Most down payment assistance comes from the housing finance agency of each state: the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the California Housing Finance Agency, Florida Housing, New York's SONYMA, Ohio's OHFA and their peers. They sell tax-exempt bonds or use federal and state funds, and they reach buyers through approved lenders, never directly. Counties and cities add their own funds, often through the federal HOME program, and some employers and nonprofits do the same. This site covers the state agencies first because they serve every county of their state; local programs are named on each state page where the agency's own guide points to them.
Because funds come in yearly allocations, a program can close for the year when its money is reserved. Florida's Hometown Heroes funds for 2025-2026 were fully committed in February 2026 before a 2026 round was announced to lenders, and California's Dream For All closed its portal in March 2026. The calculator marks such programs "not taking applications" rather than hiding them, so you know to watch for the next round.
The first-time buyer rule is about three years, not a lifetime
Federal mortgage revenue bond rules, which most state programs follow, call you a first-time buyer if you have not owned your principal residence in the last 3 years. Someone who sold a home in 2021 and has rented since is a first-time buyer again in 2026. Veterans are usually exempt, and so are buyers in "targeted areas", census tracts the federal government designates for more homeownership. Several programs drop the requirement altogether: North Carolina's Home Advantage, Illinois' Access Forgivable and Access Deferred, Arizona's Home Plus and Washington's Home Advantage are open to repeat buyers.
Income limits: 80%, 100%, 115%, 120% or a fixed figure
Programs express their income limit in one of three ways. Some use HUD's low-income limit, 80% of area median adjusted for household size. Others use 100% of median for one or two people and 115% for three or more, the federal bond rule that Texas and New Jersey apply county by county. A third group sets one figure for the whole state: $158,000 for North Carolina's Home Advantage, $155,386 for Arizona's Home Plus, $215,000 for Washington's Home Advantage. Income usually means the gross annual income of everyone who will be on the loan, and for bond programs of everyone 18 or older who will live in the home.
What lenders check besides income
A credit score floor, most often 620 or 640, sometimes 660 as in Pennsylvania. A debt-to-income ratio, commonly capped near 45% to 50%. A homebuyer education course before closing, required by nearly every program. A purchase price limit, which in bond programs follows the county. A minimum contribution of your own, such as $1,000 or 1% of the purchase price, whichever is greater in Illinois. And the property must be your principal residence. The calculator checks the credit score, the price and the type of first mortgage; the lender checks the rest.
Grants for first-time buyers: what exists
True grants, money that is never repaid whatever happens, are rarer than the word suggests. Among the 40 state programs in the calculator, the clearest examples are Virginia Housing's grant of 2% of the lesser of sales price or appraised value with a conventional bond loan, 2.5% with an FHA bond loan; down payment only and Colorado's CHFA grant of up to 3% of the first mortgage. Many programs called grants in advertising are forgivable loans: they become a grant only if you stay long enough, 5 years in New Jersey, 5 in Arizona, 10 in Pennsylvania's K-FIT. The grants page sorts them.
What this site does not do
It does not take applications, does not pass your details to a lender and does not rank lenders. It asks for no name, no email and no phone number, and nothing you type leaves your browser. It does not cover every city and nonprofit program in the country. It does not replace the approved lender, who checks income documents, credit and the property, nor the agency, which confirms that funds are available on the day you reserve them.
Common questions
How much down payment assistance can I get?
It depends on your state, county and price. Among the programs in the calculator, amounts run from a few thousand dollars to $30,000 in Massachusetts and $15,000 with Illinois' Access Home, and percentage programs pay 3% to 6% of the price or loan. A $300,000 home with 5% of the loan gives about $14,475.
Do I have to repay down payment assistance?
Only a grant is never repaid. A forgivable loan is cancelled if you keep the home for the required years, a deferred loan is repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off the first mortgage, and a repayable second loan has a monthly payment. Check the form before the amount: the calculator labels each program.
What income is too high for down payment assistance?
There is no national figure. Limits follow the county: 80% of HUD area median for some programs, 100% to 115% for bond programs, a fixed statewide cap for others, such as $158,000 in North Carolina. In Harris County, the Texas limit for three people is $119,600.
Can I get down payment assistance if I already owned a home?
Yes, in two cases. Most programs count you as a first-time buyer again after three years without owning your principal residence. And several programs have no first-time rule at all, such as North Carolina Home Advantage, Arizona Home Plus or Illinois Access Deferred. Veterans and buyers in targeted areas are usually exempt.
What credit score do I need for down payment assistance?
Most state programs ask for 620 or 640. Texas and Virginia start at 620, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee at 640, Pennsylvania at 660. FHA itself insures loans from a score of 500 with 10% down and from 580 with 3.5% down, but the assistance programs set their own higher floor.
Does down payment assistance raise my monthly payment?
A grant, a forgivable loan or a deferred loan adds no monthly payment. A repayable second loan does, for example about $161 a month on $25,000 over 15 years at 2% with MassHousing. Some agencies also price their first mortgage a little higher when you take their help, so compare both payments in the calculator.
Can I combine two down payment assistance programs?
Sometimes. New Jersey adds its First Generation $7,000 to the regular county amount, and city or employer programs often stack with a state program. Many state programs forbid a second state program on the same loan. The lender checks the combined loan-to-value ratio and the order of the liens.
Official sources for this page
- HUD User, FY 2026 Income Limits (effective May 1, 2026)
- FHFA, conforming loan limits 2026 by county
- HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, FHA forward mortgage limits for calendar year 2026
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey (weekly)
- Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA)
- California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)
- Florida Housing Finance Corporation
- State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA), part of NYS Homes and Community Renewal
Prepared by Radif Partners
Independent publisher of county-level down payment assistance calculations built from HUD income limits and state housing finance agency program guides
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Limits 2026, read from official sources on